Description

New Mexico State Flag History

New Mexico State Flag, chosen from a flag competition in 1920. The winner was Dr. Harry Mera, a doctor and archeologist from Santa Fe, New Mexico. Dr. Mera’s design an interpretation of an ancient Sun symbol called a Zia, this symbol, found on a water jar made in the late 1800’s in Zia Pueblo. Since four is a sacred number for the Zia, there are four rays coming from each side of the stylized Sun. The colors red and yellow, used because they were the colors of the flag of the Spanish conquistadors who went to New Mexico in the early 1500’s. More on the Flag of New Mexico.